KIN Studio shutting down as Verizon pulls plug in January 2011

Microsoft's KIN handsets may have scored a reprieve of sorts at Verizon last month, but it seems the carrier is still on course to shut down most of what made the tweens' smartphones special. According to WPCentral, as of January 31 2011 the KIN Studio will close permanently; that means all of the OTA functionality KIN users have been enjoying - such as posting photos to social networks, using the Feed Reader and all the Loop sharing support - will cease to function.

Instead, the KIN devices will simply support Zune Pass over WiFi and email, finally turning them into glorified feature phones. According to the documents, Verizon will be encouraging users to backup their data and giving them their choice of a free 3G phone before March 31 2011.

Feed Reader will stop working

Search Near me will stop working

Posting Photos to social sites will no longer be possible

Most pictures currently on Kin will only appear at thumbnail resolution